In the Trust we trust

In the waning hours of their session, the Assembly and Senate did something very big and potentially very good: They advanced the single best plan on the table to potentially save a falling-apart New York City Housing Authority whose residents have been plagued for a generation by leaks, mold, lead paint, rodents, broken elevators, broken boilers and, more than anything, a broken and unaccountable bureaucracy. There’s little time for congratulations, but pass them around quick — then, Gov. Hochul, sign this bill so that the rescue of NYCHA can begin in earnest.

The aging housing stock that is NYCHA’s 335 developments and 177,000 apartments has capital needs adding up to $40 billion — just to provide the system’s 400,000-plus residents with basic standards of livability. For years, politicians have begged the feds to reverse their disinvestment. For years, Washington has essentially said, get bent.

Finally, New York has chosen to give the authority the authority to control its own destiny. The Trust, a public corporation, will take over tens of thousands of units and leverage new federal funding streams, moving far more swiftly to make necessary repairs and procure crucial services, all while maintaining the same critical legal protections that NYCHA itself currently owes its residents. For once, an excellent idea will actually get a real-world test.

As we said, congratulations are in order — but victory laps are premature. It would be beyond folly to think that a restructuring or new income stream will lead seamlessly to a resolution of the persistent neglect and disrepair that has been inflicted on tenants.

What will help this new body succeed is robust oversight that will demand it deliver for residents and hold leaders accountable if they fail to efficiently utilize the billions of dollars that this arrangement will unlock. No more workers collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars via overtime fraud, no putting up with ineffective contractors, no vast delays for needed projects like elevator repair. This is a chance to start fresh, and we must make the most of it.